Red Cross launches ‘Missing Types’ campaign to motivate blood donors

By Kathy Cline | June 12, 2018 at 4:25 amUPDATED: June 21, 2018 at 2:14 pm

(American Red Cross)

PHOENIX — You might see some odd signs from the American Red Cross in the next few weeks.

As part of an international movement, the emergency assistance organization has launched its “Missing Types” campaign to recruit new blood donors and those who have not given recently.

During the campaign, the letters A, B and O — the main blood groups — will disappear from brand logos, social media pages, signs and websites to illustrate the critical role every blood donor plays.

“We need blood every two seconds. In the last four years, we had a decline of 80,000 first-time blood donors,” said Rita Jevicky, a Red Cross donor recruitment manager in the Phoenix area.

“You don’t need to know your blood type. All you need is the ability, the motivation, to save lives.”

Supporter and ASU student Sophia Fasani knows all too well the part blood plays in saving lives. Fasani’s mother suffered from a rare blood disorder during pregnancy and required over 100 units of O-negative blood to save both of their lives.

“Due to the high volume of blood she needed, the hospitals had to locate blood throughout the region,” Fasani said at Monday’s campaign kickoff. “And even then, they had to reach out to other states because there was just not enough here.”

Visit the Red Cross website for more information or to schedule an appointment to donate blood.